Toy cap gun



y 1962 M. E. HIRSCH ET AL 3,

TOY CAP GUN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1960 INVENTORS.

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y 24, 1962 M. E- HIRSCH ET AL 3,045,377

TOY CAP GUN Filed July 22, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR3. MQ/7/0/7 E. Hirsch Y zay onq I Lo lr July 24, 1962 sc ET AL 3,045,377

TOY CAP GUN 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 22, 1960 United StatesPatent 3,045,377 TOY CAP GUN Mahlon E. Hirsch, Fairview, and Raymond J. Lohr, Erie, Pa., assignors to Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 22, 1960, Ser. No. 44,757 12 Claims. (Cl. 42-57) This invention relates to guns, and more particularly to toy cap guns.

The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve toy cap guns. A more particular object is to provide such a gun which produces an extra loud report when fired. In accordance with one feature and object of the invention, we provide a wide cap strip which may be termed a double cap strip having two charges of gun powder side by side, and we provide a gun which fires the two charges at once so efficiently that the explosive sound produced is more than doubled.

Still another object of the invention is to better simulate a true revolver by localizing the cap firing mechanism in the simulated cylinder of the revolver. Still another object is to guard against the possibility of flash from the double cap explosion reaching the supply roll of caps, with consequent ignition of the same.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in the toy cap gun elements and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a gun embodying features of the invention, with part of the gun body removed to expose the mechanism; 7 7

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section drawn to enlarged scale and taken in the plane of the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the inside of one half of the gun;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hammer and flash guard, drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 shows .thehammer in forward position;

FIG. 6 shows the hammer in cocked position;

FIG. 7 shows a section of the double cap strip;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the gun;

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation of the gun;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation; and

FIG. 11 is explanatory of a detail, and is taken in the plane 11--11 of FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 8, the gun here illustrated is a toy revolver comprising a barrel 12, a hand grip 14, a hammer 16, a trigger 58, and asimulated cylinder 20. The gun further comprises cap' strip feeding and firing mechanism located largely inside the simulated cylinder. This cylinder comprises a 'fixedarcuate wall 22 (FIGS. 9 and 10) on one side, and

a pivoted arcuate wall atthe other side, thelatter being pivoted at 24, 26 (FIG. 8), that is, beneath its bottom ,edge,.to act as "an access door for access to the cap mechanism, and for the addition of a new cap roll. The door 20 is held in closed position by a latch 27 operated by a handle 28. .The simulated cylinder is open at its forward end, as indicated at 30 and 32 in FIG. 10, and it is also open along the top and bottom, above the top edge 34 (FIG. '8) and below the bottom edge 36 of the door 20, thus providing for easy sound egress. There are corresponding openings or slots 176 (FIG. 1) and 17-2 on the opposite side.

r The cap feeding and firing mechanism may be described with reference first to FIG. l of the drawing. It comprises a stationary support'pin 38 for the cap roll, and a cylindrical rotatable anvil 40 having sprocket pins 42 .around its periphery, and having ratchet teeth 44 (FIGS.

. 3&45377 Patented July 24, 1982 2, 5, and 6) at one end. The cylindrical anvil 40 is located behind the cap roll support pin 38.

There is a hammer 46 which is pivoted at 48, and which has a large thumb piece 50. It is urged forward by an unusually powerful spring 52. The hammer is located behind the anvil 40.

A feed pawl 54, best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, extends forward from the hammer to the ratchet teeth 44, and serves to advance the anvil when the hammer is cocked as shown in FIG. 6. It will be understood that the number of ratchet teeth (in this case six) corresponds to the number of sprocket pins, which in turn correspond to the spacing of the mating holes in the cap strip, and these in turn correspond to the number and spacing of the pellets or charges of gun powder on the cap strip, so that a new charge is presentedto the hammer each time the hammer is cocked and released.

Reverting to FIG. 1, there 'is a trigger guard 56 around a trigger 58. This is pivoted at 60, and extends up to provide a stop abutment 62 which acts as a sear for controlling the hammer. The trigger is normally urged forward by a trigger spring 64.

The operation will be clear from comparison of FIGS. 5 and 6, and when the hammer is cocked, as shown by the change from FIG. 5 to FIG. 6, the trigger 58 moves forward, and its sear 62 moves back into a step 66 formed on the hammer 46. The parts are so shaped, and their pivots 48 and 69 so relatively located, that this effectively locks the hammer against the force of its hammer spring. However on pulling the trigger 58 rearward its sear 62 moves forward, and the hammer is freed to snap forward until the hammer face strikes the anvil. When the trigger is released the sear 62 engages a part of the hammer ahead of the step 66, as shown in FIG. 5.

Reverting to FIG. 1, there is a cap stripper blade 70, the free end of which engages the bottom of the anvil 40 for guiding the used cap strip downward and forward ahead of the trigger guard 56. The used strip is indicated by the broken line 72, and its discharge opening is defined by parts of the cast metal gun structure indicated at 74 and '76.

In order to hold the cap strip on the anvil, a spring pressed shoe is provided. This is enlarged in area at 81 to act also as a hash guard, and it is carried by an arm 82 pivoted at its end 84. The arm 82 is urged downward by a bent wire spring 86.

To improve the realism of the gun by providing an unusually loud explosion for a cap pistol, a special cap strip has been devised, a piece of which is illustrated in FIG. 7. The cap strip is unusually wide, and has two collateral rows of spaced charges of powder 92 and 94. The pairs of charges are disposed side by side for simultaneous explosion when hitby the hammer of the gun. There are also two collateral rows of sprocket holes 96 and 98 for feeding the cap strip, and these sprocket holes are located between the charges of powder. They have a slightly greater side-to-side spacing than the charges, as shown in the drawing.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the cylindrical anvil 40 is wide like the cap strip 90, and the flash guard 80 is correspondingly wide. The anvil has two rows of sprocket pins 42 which mate with the sprocket holes 96 and 98 of the cap strip. The-shoe 80 has a pair of grooves 88 through which the sprocket pins 42 may pass as the anvil .turns.

In FIG. 2 the parts 40, 90, and 80 have been cast halves. The part 100 includes a bearing hub 102, and a hexagon shaped sideward projection 104. The part 106 has a hexagon shape on the inside to mate with the part 104, and it has a hub portion 108, as well as the ratchet teeth 44. The two halves of the anvil are slid together, and are held by a bearing pin 105 on which the anvil is mounted and rotates. A washer 107 holds the anvil on the pin 105, and a compression spring 109 provides friction by urging the halves 100 and 106 apart:

To facilitate starting a new cap strip, and also cleaning of the mechanism of the gun to free it from any bits of cap strip which may adhere to the parts of the mechanism, this mounting of the anvil is preferably an overhung mounting, with the bearing pin 105 projecting from the fixed wall 22 of the simulated cylinder, and being unsupported at the openable wall or door 20. However the cylinder must absorb considerable force when the gun fires, because the hammer has a powerful hammer spring, and the anvil preferably is supported by a strut indicated at 110 in FIGS. 3 and 8. This is cast integrally with onehalf of the gun body, and its upper end is curved to mate with one end of the anvil, and bears against its surface to support the same at a point about diametrically opposite the point where the hammer strikes the anvil.

Referring now to FIG. 4, finger piece '50 of the hammer is at the left. The shoe 80 of the flash guard has considerable area. It is wide like the anvil 40 to work with the double cap strip previously described. It is extended for a substantial distance, as indicated at 81, thereby protecting the cap roll against flash from the caps being exploded by the hammer. The shoe 80 is extended in opposite direction at one edge, as shown at 83, and this extension is curved around the anvil, as shown in FIG. 1. It thus additionally serves to hold the cap strip snugly around the anvil, even when the hammer is raised, and it helps guide the cap strip downwardly toward the guide surface 76 previously mentioned.

Reverting to FIG. 4, the hammer face 46 is enlarged sideward to explode both caps of the double cap strip. The hammer face then is considerably larger in side-toside direction than the finger piece 50 of the hammer which is seen outside the gun. FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 also show how the outer top end of the finger piece is roughened or provided with cross grooves 51 to facilitate cocking of the gun. They also show the substantial enlargement or hub cast integrally with the hammer for its main pivot at 48.

The stripper blade 70 (FIG. 1) preferably is made of thin spring steel. It is anchored in position by flexing it beneath a support 112, and above a support 114, and at its other end above the upper end of the guide member 74. This holds the free edge tightly against the anvil. The end of the strip is notched to clear the sprocket pins. The strip comes inside the support 110 (FIG. 8), and

therefore is not quite as wide as the cap strip, but the support 110 also acts as a stripper, because it bearsdirectly and snugly against the anvil.

The cast body of the gun includes a stationary curved partition 116 (FIG. 1) which additionally separates the anvil portion of the mechanism from the cap roll storage portion. This supplements flash guard 81 and provides additional flash protection.

To hold the door 20 closed, it is provided with a latch mechanism. This includes a hook 120 (FIG. 11) which is cast integrally with the door. The hook is engaged by a latch 27, and referring to FIG. '8, the latch 27 is formed at the upper end of a lever which is pivoted at 122. The

upper portion of the lever is concealed inside the gun body, but the lower end 28 projects through a slot 124. A small bent wire spring 126 around the pivot 122 urges the latch to locking position. To release the door, the lever end 28 is pushed forward, and if at this time the gun is tilted toward the left, that is, with the door downward, the door falls open automatically, somewhat in resemblance to the outward movement of the entire cylinder of one type of revolver when it is to be reloaded.

In all, there are six springs in the gun mechanism. One is the main heavy hammer spring, which is made powerful in order to insure eflicient and loud explosion of the double caps. Because of the size of the spring it is not feasible to cock the hammer by mere pulling of the trigger, particularly since the gun is to 'be used by children. It is for this reason that the hammer is separately manually cocked, and the trigger then serves merely to release the hammer after it has been cocked. For the same reason the overall shape of the hammer 16 provides a great deal of leverage for cocking the same, and in FIGS. 5 and 6 it will be noted that the lever arm or radius to the part 51 is much greater than the radius to the hammer shoe 46.

There is an additional spring 86 (FIGS. 1 and 4) on the flash guard urging it downward against the anvil; another spring 55 (FIGS. 5 and 6) on the cap feed pawl 54; another spring 64 on the trigger 58; another spring 126 (FIG. 8) on the door latch previously mentioned; and another spring 109 inside the anvil (FIG. 2).

The gun body is made up of two diecast sides which separate on a vertical plane which goes through the axis of the barrel of the gun. However, the plane of separation is offset at the trigger guard and the hand grip, so that one casting is short and terminates at the hand grip, while the other is longer and includes the hand grip. The shorter casting is shown in FIG. 3 looking from the inside, and it will be seen that it terminates in a step 140, 142. This is the left side of the gun, and carries the reload door 20. The muzzle portion is broken away but it will be understood that the generally semicylindrical barrel 12 extends forward to the muzzle of the gun. This side of the gun includes the cast support 110 which supports the end of the anvil against the glow of the hammer when the gun is fired. The lower portion of the support is extended inward and acts as the cap strip guide 74 previously mentioned, and which generally parallels the companion guide 76. Similar guides are cast with the other side of the gun, and they come together edge to edge. I

The forward pivot of the door 20 is shown at 144 and rest in an open bearing 24. It is held against inward movement after the gun is assembled, by a cross pin projecting from the opposite side of the gun. The part 146 of the casting acts as a stop to limit the inward movement of the door 20. This part is also a bearing for the pivot pin 84 (FIG. 1) of the flash guard 82.

The rear pivot or trunnion 148 of the door 20 is received in an open hearing which opens outwardly, rather than inwardly as does bearing 24. The trunnion is held in the bearing 'after the gun is assembled by the large flat head 150 (FIG. 8) of a fastener which is driven into a mating hole shown at 152 in FIG. 3. The latch for the door 20 is omitted in FIG. 3, but its pivot is shown at 122.

Referring ,now to FIGS. 1, 9 and 10 the opposite or right hand casting is extended rearwardly to provide a hollow frame for the hand grip. The same casting includes the trigger guard 56. Both of these are omitted from the left hand casting shown in FIG. 3, and the parts 56 and 130 are on the center plane of the gun, so that one edge of these parts of the casting is offset from the center plane of the barrel or gun.

The right hand casting includes the support pin 38 for the roll of caps, the pivot 105 for the anvil, the pivot 84 for the flash guard, as well as the pivots for the trigger and hammer. It also includes the fixed support pins 112, 114 (FIG. 1) for the stripper blade 70, and another support pin located at 154 to hold the forward door trunnion in its bearing. Substantially an of the parts of the gun may be assembled on the right hand casting. The anvil is held on its pin 105 by means of a washer 107, the washer being received against a locating shoulder, and the stepped or small diameter end of the pin being riveted or upset outside the washer.

The castings have mating dowels and holes to assure proper edge to edge registration, and some of these are indicated at 182, 183, 184 and 186 in FIGS. 1 and 3. The sides are also interlockedl at one or more additional points, as indicated at 188 in FIG. 10. FIG. 3 also shows socket 185 for trigger pivot 60, and sockets 187 and 189 for cross pins shown in FIG. 1 for stopping springs 52 and 64.

The door latch is assembled with the left side of the gun. The left side is added to the right, and cross rivets are headed at 160, 162 and 164 in FIG. 8. The door is added by slipping the forward trunnion forwardly in its bearing, and dropping the rear trunnion in its bearing, following which the headed fastener 150 is applied to hold the door in position. This may be done before or after assembling the sides.

The hand grip is completed by two molded pieces, preferably made of a plastics material. These grips may be highly ornamented in relief to give the gun an attractive appearance. One side is molded with horizontal pins dimensioned to be received in mating cups or sockets which are molded integrally with the opposite side. When the two grips are assembled against the metal frame 130 (-FIG. 1) the pins are received in the sockets, and a touch of solvent or glue holds the grips together.

.The pins and sockets come inside the frame 130. In addition, the metal frame 130 of the grip may have outwardly projecting locating dowels or pin-s indicated at 166 in FIG. 9, and the side pieces have holes to receive these locating dowels. At the upper end of the grip the cast sides are matingly stepped as indicated at 140, 142 in FIG. 8.

The door 20 is smaller than the opening receiving the same, thus providing sound egress passages above and below the door as well as through its open forward end. The right hand casting has similar passages formed therethrough, and referring to FIG. 1, these are indicated at 170 above the cylinder, and at 172 below the cylinder, and at '174 ahead of the cylinder. Referring to FIG. 10, there are forwardly directed openings at and 32, and also at 176 beneath the rear end ofthe barrel, and at 178 beneath and offset from the forward end of the barrel, in addition to the muzzle opening 180.

It is believed that the construction and operation of our improved cap gun, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The gun is characterized by an extra loud explosion or report when fired, and the noise produced is much greater than what might be expected from the explosion of a double charge. This extra sound is obtained because of the eificiency of the gun itself, and the provision for ready sound egress. to act as a sound resonator chamber, to increase the sound produced.

It will be understood that-While we have shown and described our invention in a preferred form, changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

We claim:

l. A toy gun comprising a supportpin for a cap r01, a cylindrical anvil rotatable on a horizontal axis extending transversely of the gun and having sprocket pins and ratchet teeth, a hammer and hammer spring, a feed pawl extending from the hammer to the ratchet teeth in order to advance the anvil when the hammer is cocked, a trigger engaging the hammer for holding or releasing the hammer, and a cap flash guard pivoted at one end and having at its other end an arcuate shoe bearing downwardly on the anvil, said shoe being grooved to pass the sprocket pins.

2. A toy gun comprising a support pin for a cap' roll, a cylindrical anvil rotatable on a horizontal axis extending transversely of the gun and having sprocket pins and ratchet teeth, and located behind the cap roll support a pin, a hammer and hammer spring behind the anvil, a

feed pawl extending forward from the hammer to the Also the hollow cylinder portion seems ratchet teeth in order to advance the anvil when the hammer is cocked, a trigger engaging the hammer for holding or releasing the hammer, and a cap flash guard of extensive area pivoted at its forward end and having at its rear end an arcuate shoe bearing downwardly on the anvil between the hammer and the cap roll support, said shoe being grooved to pass the sprocket pins.

3. A toy gunv comprising a support pin for a cap roll,

I a cylindrical anvil rotatable on a horizontal axis extendcluding said stripper for guiding the used cap strip downward ahead of the trigger guard, and a flash guard of extensive area pivoted at its forward end over the cap roll support and having at its rear end an arcuate shoe bearing downwardly on the anvil between the hammer and the cap roll support, said shoe being grooved to pass the sprocket pins.

4. A toy revolver comprising a barrel, a hand grip, a simulated cylinder, a cap strip feeding and firing mechanism located inside the simulated cylinder, said simulated cylinder comprising a fixed arcuate wall at one side and a movable arcuate wall at the other side of the gun, the latter wall acting as a door for access to said mechanism, said mechanism comprising a support pin for a cap roll, a cylindrical anvil rotatable on a horizontal axis extending transversely of the gun and having sprocket pins and ratchet teeth, a hammer and hammer spring, a feed pawl extending from the hammer to the ratchet teeth in order to advance the anvil when the hammer is cocked, a trigger engaging the hammer for holding or releasing the hammer, and a cap flash guard pivoted at one end and having at its other end a shoe bearing downwardly on the anvil, said shoe being grooved to pass the sprocket pins.

5. A toy revolver comprising a barrel, a hand grip, a simulated cylinder, a cap strip feeding and firing mechanism located inside the simulated cylinder, said simulated cylinder comprising a fixed arcuate wall at one side and a movable arcuate wall at the other side of the gun, the latter wall acting as a door for access to said mechanism, the simulated cylinder being open at its forward end and along its top and bottom for .easy sound egress, the aforesaid cap mechanism comprising a support pin for a cap roll, a cylindrical anvil rotatable on a horizontal axis extending transversely of the gun and having sprocket pins and ratchet teeth and located behind the cap roll support pin, a hammer and hammer spring behind the anvil, a feed pawl extending forward from the hammer to the ratchet teeth in order to advance the anvil when the hammer is cocked, a trigger engaging the hammer for holding or releasing the hammer, and a cap flash guard pivoted at its forward end over the cap roll support and having at its rear end an arcuate shoe bearing downwardly on the anvil between the hammer and the cap roll support, said shoe being grooved to pass the sprocket pins.

6. A toy revolver comprising a barrel, a hand grip, a simulated cylinder, a cap strip feeding and firing mechanism located inside the simulated cylinder, said simulated cylinder comprising a fixed arcuate wall at one side and horizontal axis extending transversely of the gun and having sprocket pins and ratchet teeth, and located behind the cap roll support pin, a hammer and hammer spring behind the anvil, a feed pawl extending forward from the hammer to the ratchet teeth in order to advance the anvil when the hammer is cocked, a trigger guard, a trigger engaging the hammer for holding or releasing the hammer, a cap stripper one end of which scrapes the bottom of the anvil, means including said stripper for guiding the used cap strip downward and forward ahead of the trigger guard, and a flash guard pivoted at its forward end over the cap roll support and having at its rear end an arcuate shoe bearing downwardly on the anvil between the hammer and the cap roll support, said shoe being grooved to pass the sprocket pins.

7. A toy gun as defined in claim 1, in which the rotary anvil is wide and has sprocket pins for feeding a Wide double cap strip having pairs of charges disposed side by side, and in which the striking face of the hammer has a width comparable to the width of the cap strip or anvil.

8. A toy gun as defined in claim 4, in which the rotary anvil is wide and has sprocket pins for feeding a wide double cap strip having pairs of charges disposed side by side, and in which the striking face of the hammer has a width comparable to the width of the cap strip or anvil.

9. A toy gun as defined in claim 5, in which the rotary anvil is wide and has sprocket pins for feeding a wide double cap strip having pairs of charges disposed side by side, and in which the striking face of the hammer has a width comparable to the width of the cap strip or anvil.

10. A toy gun as defined in claim 1, in which the rotary anvil is wide and has sprocket pins for feeding a wide double cap strip having pairs of charges disposed side by side, and in which the striking face of the hammer has a width comparable to the width of the cap strip or anvil and has a height short enough to fit between successive sprocket pins, and in which the hammer spring exerts adequate force to efficiently and loudly explode the double cap charge, and in which the trigger has a sear to release the hammer but the hammer must be manually cocked against the aforesaid trigger spring independently of the trigger.

11. A toy gun as defined in claim 4, in which the rotary anvil is wide and has sprocket pins for feeding a wide double cap strip having pairs of charges disposed side by side, and in which the striking face of the hammer has a width comparable to the width of the cap strip or anvil and has a height short enough to fit between successive sprocket pins, and in which the hammer spring exerts adequate force to efficiently and loudly explode the double cap charge, and in which the trigger has a sear to release the hammar but the hammer must be manually cocked against the aforesaid trigger spring independently of the trigger.

12. A toy gun as defined in claim 5, in which the rotary anvil is wide and has sprocket pins for feeding a wide double cap strip having pairs of charges disposed side by side, and in which the striking face of the hammer has a width comparable to the width of the cap strip or anvil and has a height short enough to fit between successive sprocket pins, and in which the hammer spring exerts adequate force to efliciently and loudly explode the double cap charge, and in which the trigger has a scar to release the hammer but the hammer must be manually cocked against the aforeside trigger spring independently of the trigger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 190,825 Churchill May 15, 1877 221,015 Backes Oct. 28, 1879 430,338 Dennis et al. June 17, 1890 807,460 Harrison Dec. 19, 1905 1,260,306 Blamfield Mar. 26, 1918 2,736,978 Salvato Mar. 6, 1956 2,847,785 Birdsall Aug. 19, 1958 2,848,950 Donaldson Aug. 26, 1958 2,866,287 Ryan Dec. 30, 1958 2,941,325 Ayala June 211, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 730,021 France May 3, 1932 

